Growing up in England, Shepherd's Pie is ingrained in you - that and cottage pie. There's the confusion to which one is which, and the only difference is the meat. Shepherd's tend to sheep so it is made with lamb mince rather than beef.
For me, shepherd's/cottage pie is ultimate comfort food and especially as the weather gets colder. This meal is a real comfort as I think it was one of the first meals my mum allowed my sister and I to make on our own - so it conjures up happy memories of being in the kitchen together!
What Katie Ate Next's recipe is called shepherd's pie but gives you the option to choose lamb or beef for the meat filling. I went with beef as I'm not really a lamb fan. I found a similar recipe here.
Yay or Nay: Yay
A little more effort than my version but tastier! I can't say that I tasted the garlic and cheese in the mash, but sprinkled on top was a nice addition. The recipe for the filling was lengthy but the filling had a rich, ragu-like taste that was definitely moreish!
This is going to be a quick post as the holiday weekend was pretty full and I'm writing this just before bed. As you know I've been on a sugar cut-back, I would like to say that I am going cold turkey but it's not always realistic!
I picked up some rhubarb at the public market and immediately I thought of stewed rhubarb mixed in with yogurt or crumble. Crumble won out so I immediately grabbed Deliciously Ella's cookbook as I remember seeing a crumble recipe in there. In the past I make my crumble with mainly flour, oats and butter so I was intrigued about Blackberry, Apple and Maple Crumble as it had less dairy/fat but a little more sugar than I was hoping for. It was worth a try however I knew I wouldn't make the same filling as rhubarb is one of my faves!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Deceptively, I managed to fool the Husband into thinking it was a similar recipe to my original. He had no idea there was no flour or butter in it, though I bet if I mentioned it he would say he could taste it! It was so yummy it barely lasted a couple of days! Result!
I stewed my rhubarb and added some honey as it can be really tart and although I was apprehensive about adding honey to the topping, I think it helped bind the ingredients together. I wonder what it would be like using just coconut oil instead as a binding ingredient. Also, I never usually add cinnamon to my topping as I'm not the greatest fan of it but it worked well with the rhubarb so I guess I'm a convert.
